1
CONTENTS
Chapter 1
Introduction of the tPad..................................................................... 2
1.1 About the Kit ........................................................................................................................................ 6
1.2 Getting Help ......................................................................................................................................... 7
Chapter 2
tPad Architecture ............................................................................... 8
2.1 Layout and Components ........................................................................................................................ 8
2.2 Block Diagram of the tPad .................................................................................................................... 9
Chapter 3
Using the tPad .................................................................................. 10
3.1 Configuring the Cyclone IV E FPGA .................................................................................................. 10
3.2 Bus Controller..................................................................................................................................... 13
3.3 Using the 8” LCD Touch Screen Module ............................................................................................. 14
3.4 Using 5-Megapixel Digital Image Sensor Module ............................................................................... 15
Chapter 4
tPad Demonstrations ....................................................................... 17
4.1 System Requirements .......................................................................................................................... 17
4.2 Factory Configuration ......................................................................................................................... 17
4.3 tPad Starter Demonstration .................................................................................................................. 18
4.4 tPad Picture Viewer ............................................................................................................................. 22
4.5 Video and Image Processing ................................................................................................................ 25
4.6 tPad Camera Application ..................................................................................................................... 28
4.7 Video and Image Processing for Camera ............................................................................................. 31
Chapter 5
Application Selector ......................................................................... 36
5.1 Ready to Run SD Card Demos ............................................................................................................ 36
5.2 Running the Application Selector ........................................................................................................ 37
5.3 Application Selector Details ................................................................................................................ 37
5.4 Restoring the Factory Image................................................................................................................ 40
Chapter 6
Appendix .......................................................................................... 42
6.1 Revision History ................................................................................................................................. 42
6.2 Copyright Statement............................................................................................................................ 42
1
Chapter 1
Introduction of the tPad
The tPad Embedded Evaluation Kit is a comprehensive design environment with everything
embedded developers need to create processing-based systems. The tPad delivers an integrated
platform that includes hardware, design tools, intellectual property (IP) and reference designs for
developing embedded software and hardware platform in a wide range of applications. The fully
integrated kit allows developers to rapidly customize their processor and IP to best suit their specific
application. The tPad features the DE2-115 development board targeting the Cyclone IV E FPGA,
as well as a LCD multimedia color touch panel and a 5-Megapixel digital image sensor module.
The tPad is preconfigured with an FPGA hardware reference design including several Ready-to-Run
demonstration applications stored on the provided SD-Card. Software developers can use these
reference designs as their platform to quickly architect, develop and build complex embedded
systems. By simply scrolling through the demo of your choice on the LCD multimedia color touch
panel, you can evaluate numerous processor system designs.
The all-in-one embedded solution offered on the tPad, in combination of the LCD touch panel and
digital image module, provide embedded developers the ideal platform for multimedia applications
with unparallel processing performance. Developers can benefit from the use of FPGA-based
embedded processing system such as mitigate design risk and obsolescence, design reuse, reducing
bill of material (BOM) costs by integrating powerful graphics engines within the FPGA, and lower
cost.
Figure 1-1 shows a photograph of the tPad.
2
Figure 1-1 The tPad board overview
The key features of the board are listed below:
 DE2-115 Development Board

Cyclone IV EP4CE115 FPGA
o 114,480 LEs
o 432 M9K memory blocks
o 3,888 Kbits embedded memory
o 4 PLLs

Configuration
o On-board USB-Blaster circuitry
o JTAG and AS mode configuration supported
o EPCS64 serial configuration device

Memory Devices
o 128MB SDRAM
o 2MB SRAM
o 8MB Flash with 8-bit mode
o 32Kbit EEPROM

Switches and Indicators
o 18 switches and 4 push-buttons
o 18 red and 9 green LEDs
o Eight 7-segment displays
3

Audio
o 24-bit encoder/decoder (CODEC)
o Line-in, line-out, and microphone-in jacks

Display
o 16x2 LCD module

On-Board Clocking Circuitry
o Three 50MHz oscillator clock inputs
o SMA connectors (external clock input/output)

SD Card Socket
o Provides SPI and 4-bit SD mode for SD Card access

Two Gigabit Ethernet Ports
o Integrated 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet

High Speed Mezzanine Card (HSMC)
o Configurable I/O standards (voltage levels: 3.3/2.5/1.8/1.5V)

USB Type A and B
o Provide host and device controller compliant with USB 2.0
o Support data transfer at full-speed and low-speed
o PC driver available

40-pin Expansion Port
o Configurable I/O standards (voltage levels: 3.3/2.5/1.8/1.5V)

VGA-out Connector
o VGA DAC (high speed triple DACs)

DB9 Serial Connector
o RS232 port with flow control

PS/2 Connector
o PS/2 connector for connecting a PS2 mouse or keyboard

TV-in Connector
o TV decoder (NTSC/PAL/SECAM)

Remote Control
o Infrared receiver module
4

Power
o Desktop DC input
o Switching and step-down regulators LM3150MH
 LCD touch screen module




Equipped with an 8-inch Amorphous-TFT-LCD (Thin Film Transistor Liquid Crystal Display)
module
Module composed of LED backlight
Support 18-bit parallel RGB interface
Converting the X/Y coordination of touch point to its corresponding digital data via the
Analog Devices AD7843 A/D converter
Table 1-1 shows the general physical specifications of the LTC (Note*).
Table 1-1 General physical specifications of the LCD
Item
Specification
Unit
LCD size
8 inch (Diagonal)
-
Resolution
800 x3(RGB) x 600
dot
Dot pitch
0.0675(W) x 0.2025(H)
mm
Active area
162.0(W) x 121.5(H)
mm
Module size
183.0(W) x 141.0(H) x 7.2(D)
mm
Surface treatment
Anti-Glare
-
Color arrangement
RGB-stripe
-
Interface
Digital
-
 5-Megapixel digital image sensor module











Superior low-light performance
High frame rate
Low dark current
Global reset release, which starts the exposure of all rows simultaneously
Bulb exposure mode, for arbitrary exposure times
Snapshot mode to take frames on demand
Horizontal and vertical mirror image
Column and row skip modes to reduce image size without reducing field-of-view
Column and row binning modes to improve image quality when resizing
Simple two-wire serial interface
Programmable controls: gain, frame rate, frame size, exposure
Table 1-2 shows the key parameters of the CMOS sensor (Note*).
5
Table 1-2 Key performance parameters of the CMOS sensor
Parameter
Value
Active Pixels
2592Hx1944V
Pixel size
2.2umx2.2um
Color filter array
RGB Bayer pattern
Shutter type
Global reset release(GRR)
Maximum data rate/master clock
96Mp/s at 96MHz
Frame rate
Full resolution Programmable up to 15 fps
VGA mode
Programmable up to 70 fps
ADC resolution
12-bit
Responsivity
1.4V/lux-sec(550nm)
Pixel dynamic range
70.1dB
SNRMAX
38.1dB
Supply Voltage
Power
3.3V
I/O
1.7V～3.1V
Note: for more detailed information of the LCD touch panel and CMOS sensor module,
please refer to their datasheets respectively.
1.1 About the Kit
The kit contains all users needed to run the demonstrations and develop custom designs, as shown
in Figure 1-2.
The system CD contains technical documents of the tPad which includes component datasheets,
demonstrations, schematic, and user manual.
6
Figure 1-2 tPad kit package contents
1.2 Getting Help
Here is information of how to get help if you encounter any problem:



Terasic Technologies
Tel: +886-3-550-8800
Email: support@terasic.com
7
Chapter 2
tPad Architecture
This chapter describes the architecture of the tPad including block diagram and components.
2.1 Layout and Components
The picture of the tPad is shown in Figure 2-1 and Figure 2-2. It depicts the layout of the board and
indicates the locations of the connectors and key components.
Figure 2-1 tPad PCB and component diagram (top view)
8
Figure 2-2 tPad PCB and component diagram (bottom view)
2.2 Block Diagram of the tPad
Figure 2-3 gives the block diagram of the tPad board. To provide maximum flexibility for the user,
all connections are made through the Cyclone IV E FPGA device. Thus, the user can configure the
FPGA to implement any system design.
Figure 2-3 Block Diagram of tPad
9
Chapter 3
Using the tPad
This section describes the detailed information of the components, connectors, and pin assignments
of the tPad.
3.1 Configuring the Cyclone IV E FPGA
The tPad board contains a serial configuration device that stores configuration data for the Cyclone
IV E FPGA. This configuration data is automatically loaded from the configuration device into the
FPGA every time while power is applied to the board. Using the Quartus II software, it is possible
to reconfigure the FPGA at any time, and it is also possible to change the non-volatile data that is
stored in the serial configuration device. Both types of programming methods are described below.
1.
JTAG programming: In this method of programming, named after the IEEE standards Joint
Test Action Group, the configuration bit stream is downloaded directly into the Cyclone IV E
FPGA. The FPGA will retain this configuration as long as power is applied to the board; the
configuration information will be lost when the power is turned off.
2.
AS programming: In this method, called Active Serial programming, the configuration bit
stream is downloaded into the Altera EPCS64 serial configuration device. It provides
non-volatile storage of the bit stream, so that the information is retained even when the power
supply to the tPad board is turned off. When the board‟s power is turned on, the configuration
data in the EPCS64 device is automatically loaded into the Cyclone IV E FPGA.
 JTAG Chain on tPad Board
To use JTAG interface for configuring FPGA device, the JTAG chain on the tPad must form a close
loop that allows Quartus II programmer to detect the FPGA device. Figure 3-1 illustrates the JTAG
chain on the tPad board. Shorting pin1 and pin2 on JP3 can disable the JTAG signals on the HSMC
connector that will form a close JTAG loopback on DE2-115 (See Figure 3-2). Thus, only the on
board FPGA device (Cyclone IV E) will be detected by Quartus II programmer. By default, a
jumper is placed on pin1 and pin3 of JP3. To prevent any changes to the bus controller (Max II
EPM240) described in later sections, users should not adjust the jumper on JP3.
10
Figure 3-1 JTAG Chain
Figure 3-2 The JTAG chain configuration header
 Configuring the FPGA in JTAG Mode
Figure 3-3 illustrates the JTAG configuration setup. To download a configuration bit stream into
the Cyclone IV E FPGA, perform the following steps:




Ensure that power is applied to the tPad board
Configure the JTAG programming circuit by setting the RUN/PROG slide switch (SW19) to
the RUN position (See Figure 3-4)
Connect the supplied USB cable to the USB-Blaster port on the tPad board
The FPGA can now be programmed by using the Quartus II Programmer module to select a
configuration bit stream file with the .sof filename extension
11
Figure 3-3 The JTAG chain configuration scheme
Figure 3-4 The RUN/PROG switch (SW19) is set to JTAG mode
 Configuring the EPCS64 in AS Mode
Figure 3-5 illustrates the AS configuration set up. To download a configuration bit stream into the
EPCS64 serial configuration device, perform the following steps:





Ensure that power is applied to the tPad board
Connect the supplied USB cable to the USB-Blaster port on the tPad board
Configure the JTAG programming circuit by setting the RUN/PROG slide switch (SW19) to
the PROG position
The EPCS64 chip can now be programmed by using the Quartus II Programmer module to
select a configuration bit stream file with the .pof filename extension
Once the programming operation is finished, set the RUN/PROG slide switch back to the RUN
position and then reset the board by turning the power switch off and back on; this action
causes the new configuration data in the EPCS64 device to be loaded into the FPGA chip
12
Figure 3-5 The AS configuration scheme
3.2 Bus Controller
The tPad comes with a bus controller using the Max II EPM240 that allows user to access the touch
screen module through the HSMC connector. This section describes its structure in block diagram
form and its capabilities.
 Bus Controller Introduction
The bus controller provides level shifting functionality from 2.5V (HSMC) to 3.3V domains.
 Block Diagram of the Bus Controller
Figure 3-6 gives the block diagram of the connection setup from the HSMC connector to the bus
controller on the Max II EPM240 to the touch screen module. To provide maximum flexibility for
the user, all connections are established through the HSMC connector. Thus, the user can configure
the Cyclone IV E FPGA on the tPad to implement any system design.
Figure 3-6 Block Diagram of the Bus Controller
13
3.3 Using the 8” LCD Touch Screen Module
The tPad features an 8-inch Amorphous-TFT-LCD panel. The LCD Touch Screen module offers
resolution of (800x600) to provide users the best display quality for developing applications. The
LCD panel supports 18-bit parallel RGB data interface.
The tPad is also equipped with an Analog Devices AD7843 touch screen digitizer chip. The
AD7843 is a 12-bit analog to digital converter (ADC) for digitizing x and y coordinates of touch
points applied to the touch screen. The coordinates of the touch points can be read through the serial
port interface on the AD7843.
To display images on the LCD panel correctly, the RGB color data along with the data enable and
clock signals must act according to the timing specification of the LCD touch panel as shown in
Table 3-1.
Table 3-2 gives the pin assignment information of the LCD touch panel.
Table 3-1 LCD timing specifications
Parameter
Symbol
CLK Frequency
CLK Period
CLK Pulse Duty
DE Period
DE Pulse Width
DE Frame Blanking
DE Frame Width
OEV Pulse Width
OKV Pulse Width
DE(internal)-STV Time
DE(internal)-CKV Time
DE(internal)-OEV Time
DE(internal)-POL Time
STV Pulse Width
Min.
FCPH
FCPH
FCWH
FDEH+ TDEL
FDH
FHS
FEP
TOEV
TCKV
T1
T2
T3
T4
-
40
1000
10
-
Values
Typ.
39.79
25.13
50
1056
800
28
600
150
133
4
40
23
157
1
Max.
60
110
-
Unit
MHz
Ns
%
TCPH
TCPH
FDEH+TDEL
FDEH+TDEL
TCPH
TCPH
TCPH
TCPH
TCPH
TCPH
TH
Note: THS + THA < TH
Table 3-2 Pin assignment of the LCD touch panel
Signal Name
FPGA Pin No.
Description
I/O Standard
LCD_DIM
PIN_P27
LCD backlight enable
2.5V
LCD_NCLK
LCD_R0
LCD_R1
PIN_V24
PIN_V26
PIN_R27
LCD clock
LCD red data bus bit 0
LCD red data bus bit 1
2.5V
2.5V
2.5V
14
LCD_R2
LCD_R3
LCD_R4
LCD_R5
LCD_G0
LCD_G1
LCD_G2
LCD_G3
LCD_G4
LCD_G5
LCD_B0
LCD_B1
LCD_B2
LCD_B3
LCD_B4
LCD_B5
LCD _DEN
TOUCH _PENIRQ_N
PIN_R28
PIN_U27
PIN_U28
PIN_V27
PIN_P21
PIN_R21
PIN_R22
PIN_R23
PIN_T21
PIN_T22
PIN_V28
PIN_U22
PIN_V22
PIN_V25
PIN_L28
PIN_J26
PIN_P25
PIN_L22
LCD red data bus bit 2
LCD red data bus bit 3
LCD red data bus bit 4
LCD red data bus bit 5
LCD green data bus bit 0
LCD green data bus bit 1
LCD green data bus bit 2
LCD green data bus bit 3
LCD green data bus bit 4
LCD green data bus bit 5
LCD blue data bus bit 0
LCD blue data bus bit 1
LCD blue data bus bit 2
LCD blue data bus bit 3
LCD blue data bus bit 4
LCD blue data bus bit 5
LCD RGB data enable
AD7843 pen interrupt
2.5V
2.5V
2.5V
2.5V
2.5V
2.5V
2.5V
2.5V
2.5V
2.5V
2.5V
2.5V
2.5V
2.5V
2.5V
2.5V
2.5V
2.5V
TOUCH _DOUT
TOUCH _BUSY
PIN_L21
PIN_U26
AD7843 serial interface data out
AD7843 serial interface busy
2.5V
2.5V
TOUCH _DIN
TOUCH _CS_N
PIN_U25
PIN_T26
AD7843 serial interface data in
AD7843 serial interface chip select input
2.5V
2.5V
TOUCH _DCLK
PIN_T25
AD7843 interface clock
2.5V
3.4 Using 5-Me gapixel Digital Image Sensor Module
The tPad is equipped with a 5-Megapixel digital image sensor module that provides an active
imaging array of 2,592H x 1,944V. It features low-noise CMOS imaging technology that achieves
CCD image quality. In addition, it incorporates sophisticated camera functions on-chip such as
windowing, column and row skip mode, and snapshot mode.
The sensor can be operated in its default mode or programmed by the user through a simple
two-wire serial interface for frame size, exposure, gain settings, and other parameters. Table 3-3
contains the pin names and descriptions of the image sensor module.
Table 3-3 Pin assignment of the CMOS sensor
Signal Name
CAMERA_ PIXCLK
CAMERA_ D0
CAMERA_ D1
CAMERA_ D2
FPGA Pin No.
PIN_J27
PIN_F26
PIN_E26
PIN_G25
Description
Pixel clock
Pixel data bit 0
Pixel data bit 1
Pixel data bit 2
15
I/O Standard
2.5V
2.5V
2.5V
2.5V
CAMERA_ D3
PIN_G26
CAMERA_ D4
PIN_H25
CAMERA_ D5
PIN_H26
CAMERA_ D6
PIN_K25
CAMERA_ D7
PIN_K26
CAMERA_ D8
PIN_L23
CAMERA_ D9
PIN_L24
CAMERA_ D10
PIN_M25
CAMERA_ D11
PIN_M26
CAMERA_ STROBE PIN_G28
CAMERA_ LVAL
PIN_K27
CAMERA_ FVAL
PIN_K28
CAMERA_ RESET_N PIN_M28
CAMERA_ SCLK
PIN_K22
CAMERA_ TRIGGER PIN_H23
CAMERA_ SDATA
PIN_H24
CAMERA_ XCLKIN PIN_G23
Pixel data bit 3
Pixel data bit 4
Pixel data bit 5
Pixel data bit 6
Pixel data bit 7
Pixel data bit 8
Pixel data bit 9
Pixel data bit 10
Pixel data bit 11
Snapshot strobe
Line valid
Frame valid
Image sensor reset
Serial clock
Snapshot trigger
Serial data
External input clock
16
2.5V
2.5V
2.5V
2.5V
2.5V
2.5V
2.5V
2.5V
2.5V
2.5V
2.5V
2.5V
2.5V
2.5V
2.5V
2.5V
2.5V
Chapter 4
tPad Demonstrations
This chapter gives detailed description of the provided bundles of exclusive demonstrations
implemented on tPad. These demonstrations are particularly designed (or ported) for tPad, with the
goal of showing the potential capabilities of the kit and showcase the unique benefits of
FPGA-based SOPC systems such as reducing BOM costs by integrating powerful graphics and
video processing circuits within the FPGA.
4.1 System Requirements
To run and recompile the demonstrations, you should:



Install Altera Quartus II 10.0 and NIOS II EDS 10.0 or later edition on the host computer
Install the USB-Blaster driver software. You can find instructions in the tutorial “Getting
Started with Altera‟s DE2-115 Board” (tut_initialDE2-115.pdf) which is available on the
DE2-115 system CD
Copy the entire demonstrations folder from the tPad system CD to your host computer
4.2 Factor y Configuration
The tPad development kit comes preconfigured with a default utility that boots up on power on and
allows users to quickly select, load, and run different Ready-to-Run demonstrations stored on an SD
Card using the tPad touch panel. Figure 4-1 gives a snapshot of the default application selector
interface (Note*). Every demonstration consists of a FPGA hardware image and an application
software image. When you select a demonstration the application selector copies the hardware
image to EPCS device and software image to flash memory and reconfigures the FPGA with your
selection. For more comprehensive information of the application selector factory configuration,
please refer to chapter 5.
17
Figure 4-1 Application selector interface
Note: Please insert the supplied SD Card from this demonstration.
4.3 tPad Star ter Demonstration
The tPad starter demonstration takes user the initial experience of an embedded system integrating a
LCD Touch Panel. This demonstration consists of two sub item, Touch and Color pattern generator.
The Touch segment draws a circle on where you touch the screen and updates its coordinates on the
top left corner. The pattern generator can be treated as an upgrade version of the LCD test program.
The software successively generates different color patterns after a fixed time delay. Users could
use it to quickly investigate any flaw of the LCD.
Figure 4-2 shows the hardware system block diagram of this demonstration. The system is clocked
by an external 50MHz Oscillator. Through the internal PLL module, the generated 100MHz clock is
used for Nios II processor and other components, and there also a 40MHz pixel clock for the video
pipeline and 10MHz for low-speed peripherals. The Nios II CPU runs the application software and
controls all the peripherals. A scatter-gather DMA is used to transfer pixel data from the video
buffer to the video pipeline.
18
Figure 4-2 Block diagram of the tPad Starter demonstration
Figure 4-3 illustrates the software structure of this demonstration. The touch panel‟s SPI HAL
block responds to the bottom hardware requests and interface to upper layers. The SGDMA HAL
allocates required frame/descriptor buffers to specified memory address and is responsible of
handling frame buffer update issue.
Figure 4-3 Software stack of the tPad Starter demonstration
19
 Demonstration Source Code



Project directory: tPad_Starter
Bit stream used: tPad_Starter.sof
Nios II Workspace: tPad_Starter\Software
 Demonstration Batch File
Demo Batch File Folder:tPad_Starter\demo_batch
The demo batch file includes the following files:



Batch File: tPad_Starter.bat, tPad_Starter_bashrc
FPGA Configure File: tPad_Starter.sof
Nios II Program: tPad_Starter.elf
 Demonstration Setup







Make sure Quartus II and Nios II are installed on your PC
Power on the DE2-115 board
Connect USB-Blaster to the DE2-115 board and install USB-Blaster driver if necessary
Execute the demo batch file “tPad_Starter.bat” under the batch file folder,
tPad_Starter\demo_batch
After Nios II program is downloaded and executed successfully, a prompt message will be
displayed in nios2-terminal
From on the touch panel, tap any icon of the main interface and start the experience, as shown
in Figure 4-4, Figure 4-5 and Figure 4-6
Under each sub item, touch the Exit button on the left bottom corner will lead you back to the
main interface
20
Figure 4-4 Main interface of the tPad Starter demonstration
Figure 4-5 The tPad Starter Touch sub item
21
Figure 4-6 The tPad Starter Pattern sub item
4.4 tPad Picture Viewer
This demonstration shows a simple picture viewer implementation using Nios II based SOPC
system. It reads JPEG images stored on SD Card and displays them on the LCD. The Nios II CPU
decodes the images and fills the raw result data into frame buffers in SDRAM. The tPad will show
the image the buffer being displayed points to. When users touch the LCD Touch Panel, it will
proceed to display the next buffered image until there is no filled buffer and enter the Loading
phase. Figure 4-7 shows the block diagram of this demonstration.
The Nios II CPU here takes a key roll in the demonstration. It is responsible of decoding the JPEG
images and coordinates the works of all the peripherals. The touch panel handling program uses the
timer as a regular interrupter and periodically updates the pen state and sampled coordinates.
22
Figure 4-7 Block diagram of the picture viewer demonstration
 Demonstration Source Code



Project directory: tPad_Picture_Viewer
Bit stream used: tPad_Picture_Viewer.sof
Nios II Workspace: tPad_Picture_Viewer\Software
 Demonstration Batch File
Demo Batch File Folder: tPad_Picture_Viewer\demo_batch
The demo batch file includes the following files:



Batch File: tPad_Picture_Viewer.bat, tPad_Picture_Viewer _bashrc
FPGA Configure File: tPad_Picture_Viewer.sof
Nios II Program: tPad_Picture_Viewer.elf
 Demonstration Setup




Format your SD Card into FAT16 format
Place the jpg image files to the \jpg subdirectory of the SD Card. For best display result, the
image should have a resolution of 800x600 or the multiple of that
Insert the SD Card to the SD Card slot on the tPad
Load the bitstream into the FPGA on the tPad board
23


Run the Nios II Software under the workspace tPad_Picture_Viewer\Software (Note*)
Touch the play button will proceed to display the next image. Figure 4-8 gives a screen shot of
the tPad picture viewer demonstration. Table 4-1 shows the instructions for running the
demonstration
Figure 4-8 tPad picture viewer demonstration
Table 4-1 Touch panel displayed information
Display information
Implication
Press the play button to display the next buffered image
Indicates the loading progress
Note: execute the tPAD_Picture_Viewer.bat under tPAD_Picture_Viewer\demo_batch will
automatically download the .sof and .elf file.
24
4.5 Video and Image Processing
The Video and Image Processing (VIP) Example Design demonstrates dynamic scaling and clipping
of a standard definition video stream in either National Television System Committee (NTSC) or
Phase Alternation Line (PAL) format and picture-in-picture mixing with a background layer. The
video stream is output in high definition resolution (800×600) on the HSMC LTC daughter card
(part of the tPad).
The example design demonstrates a framework for rapid development of video and image
processing systems using the parameterizable MegaCore® functions that are available in the Video
and Image Processing Suite. Available functions are listed in Table 4-2. This demonstration needs
the Quartus II license file includes the VIP suite feature.
Table 4-2 VIP IP cores functions
IP MegaCore
Function
Frame Reader
Control
Synchronizer
Switch
Color Space
Converter
Chroma Resampler
2D FIR Filter
Alpha Blending
Mixer
Scaler
Deinterlacer
Test Pattern
Generator
Clipper
Color Plane
Sequencer
Frame Buffer
2D Median Filter
Gamma Corrector
Clocked Video
Input/Output
Description
Reads video from external memory and outputs it as a stream.
Synchronizes the changes made to the video stream in real time between two
functions.
Allows video streams to be switched in real time.
Converts image data between a variety of different color spaces such as RGB to
YCrCb.
Changes the sampling rate of the chroma data for image frames, for example
from 4:2:2 to 4:4:4 or 4:2:2 to 4:2:0.
Implements a 3 x 3, 5 x 5, or 7 x 7 finite impulse response (FIR) filter on an image
data stream to smooth or sharpen images.
Mixes and blends multiple image streams—useful for implementing text overlay
and picture-in-picture mixing.
A sophisticated polyphase scaler that allows custom scaling and real-time
updates of both the image sizes and the scaling coefficients.
Converts interlaced video formats to progressive video format using a motion
adaptive deinterlacing algorithm. Also supports 'bob' and "weave" algorithms
Generates a video stream that contains still color bars for use as a test pattern.
Provides a way to clip video streams and can be configured at compile time or at
run time.
Changes how color plane samples are transmitted across the Avalon-ST
interface. This function can be used to split and join video streams, giving
control over the routing of color plane samples.
Buffers video frames into external RAM. This core supports double or
triple-buffering with a range of options for frame dropping and repeating.
Provides a way to apply 3 x 3, 5 x 5, or 7 x 7 pixel median filters to video images.
Allows video streams to be corrected for the physical properties of display
devices.
These two cores convert the industry-standard clocked video format (BT-656) to
Avalon-ST video and vice versa.
These functions allow you to fully integrate common video functions with video interfaces,
processors, and external memory controllers. The example design uses an Altera Cyclone® IV E
EP4CE115F29 featured tPad board.
25
A video source is input through an analog composite port on tPad which generates a digital output
in ITU BT656 format. A number of common video functions are performed on this input stream in
the FPGA. These functions include clipping, chroma resampling, motion adaptive deinterlacing,
color space conversion, picture-in-picture mixing, and polyphase scaling.
The input and output video interfaces on the tPad are configured and initialized by software running
on a Nios® II processor. Nios II software demonstrates how to control the clocked video input,
clocked video output, and mixer functions at run-time is also provided. The video system is
implemented using the SOPC Builder system level design tool. This abstracted design tool provides
an easy path to system integration of the video processing data path with a NTSC or PAL video
input, VGA output, Nios II processor for configuration and control. The Video and Image
Processing Suite MegaCore functions have common open Avalon-ST data interfaces and Avalon
Memory-Mapped (Avalon-MM) control interfaces to facilitate connection of a chain of video
functions and video system modeling. In addition, video data is transmitted between the Video and
Image Processing Suite functions using the Avalon-ST Video protocol, which facilitates building
run-time controllable systems and error recovery.
Figure 4-9 shows the Video and Image Processing block diagram.
Figure 4-9 VIP Example SOPC Block Diagram (Key Components)
26
 Demonstration Source Code



Project directory: tPad_VIP
Bit stream used: tPad_VIP.sof
Nios II Workspace: tPad_VIP\Software
 Demonstration Batch File
Demo Batch File Folder: tPad_VIP\demo_batch
The demo batch file includes the following files:



Batch File: tPad_VIP.bat, tPad_VIP_bashrc
FPGA Configure File: tPad_VIP.sof
Nios II Program: tPad_VIP.elf
 Demonstration Setup





Connect a DVD player‟s composite video output(yellow plug) to the Video-IN RCA jack(J12)
of the tPad board. The DVD player has to be configured to provide NTSC output or PAL
output
Connect the VGA output of the tPad board to a VGA monitor (both LCD and CRT type of
monitors should work)
Load the bit stream into FPGA (note*)
Run the Nios II and choose tPad_VIP\Software as the workspace. Click on the Run button
(note *)
Press and drag the video frame box will result in scaling the playing window to any size, as
shown in Figure 4-10
Note:
(1).Execute tPad_VIP\demo_batch\tPad _VIP.bat will download .sof and .elf files.
(2).You may need additional Altera VIP suite Megacore license features to recompile the project.
Figure 4-11 illustrates the setup for this demonstration.
27
Figure 4-10 The VIP demonstration running result
Figure 4-11 Setup for the tPad_VIP demonstration
4.6 tPad Camera Application
This demonstration shows a digital camera reference design using the 5-Megapixel CMOS sensor
and 8-inch LCD modules on the tPad. The CMOS sensor module sends the raw image data to FPGA
on DE2-115 Board, the FPGA on the board is handling image processing part and converts the data
to RGB format to display on the LCD module. The I2C Sensor Configuration module is used to
configure the CMOS sensor module. Figure 4-12 shows the block diagram of the demonstration.
28
As soon as the configuration code is downloaded into the FPGA, the I2C Sensor Configuration
block will initial the CMOS sensor via I2C interface. The CMOS sensor is configured as follow:





Row and Column Size: 800 * 600
Exposure time: Adjustable
Pix clock: MCLK*2 = 25*2 = 50MHz
Readout modes: Binning
Mirror mode: Line mirrored
According to the settings, we can calculate the CMOS sensor output frame rate is about 44.4 fps.
After the configuration, The CMOS sensor starts to capture and output image data streams, the
CMOS sensor Capture block extracts the valid pix data streams based on the synchronous signals
from the CMOS sensor. The data streams are generated in Bayer Color Pattern format. So it‟s then
converted to RGB data streams by the RAW2RGB block.
After that, the Multi-Port SDRAM Controller acquires and writes the RGB data streams to the
SDRAM which performs as a frame buffer. The Multi-Port SDRAM Controller has two write ports
and read ports also with 16-bit data width each. The writing clock is the same as CMOS sensor pix
clock, and the reading clock is provided by the LCD Controller, which is 40MHz.
Finally, the LCD controller fetches the RGB data from the buffer and displays it on the LCD panel
continuously. Because the resolution and timing of the LCD is compatible with SVGA@800*600,
the LCD controller generates the same timing and the frame rate can achieve about 25 fps.
For the objective of a better visual effect, the CMOS sensor is configured to enable the left right
mirror mode. User could disable this functionality by modifying the related register value being
written to CMOS controller chip.
Figure 4-12 Block diagram of the digital camera design
29
 Demonstration Source Code


Project directory: tPad_Camera
Bit stream used: tPad_Camera.sof
 Demonstration Batch File
Demo Batch File Folder: tPad_Camera\demo_batch
The demo batch file includes the following files:


Batch File: tPad_Camera.bat
FPGA Configure File: tPad_Camera.sof
 Demonstration Setup





Load the bit stream into FPGA by execute the batch file „tPad_Camera.bat‟ under
tPad_Camera\demo_batch\ folder
The system enters the FREE RUN mode automatically. Press KEY[0] on the DE2-115 board
to reset the circuit
Press KEY[2] to take a shot of the photo; you can press KEY[3] again to switch back to
FREE RUN mode and you should be able to see whatever the camera captures on the LCD
display
User can use the SW[0] and KEY[1] to set the exposure time for brightness adjustment of the
image captured. When SW[0] is set to Off, the brightness of image will be increased as KEY[1]
is pressed longer. If SW[0] is set to On, the brightness of image will be decreased as KEY[1]
is pressed shorter
User can use SW[17] to mirror image of the line. However, remember to press KEY[0] after
toggle SW[17]
Note: execute the tPad_Camera.bat under tPad_Camera\demo_batch will automatically
download the .sof file.
Table 4-3 summarizes the functional keys of the digital camera. Figure 4-13 gives a run-time
30
photograph of the demonstration.
Table 4-3 The functional keys of the digital camera demonstration
Component Function Description
KEY[0]
Reset circuit
KEY[1]
Set the new exposure time (use with SW[0] )
KEY[2]
Trigger the Image Capture (take a shot)
KEY[3]
Switch to Free Run mode
Off: Extend the exposure time
SW[0]
On: Shorten the exposure time
HEX[7:0]
Frame counter (Display ONLY)
Figure 4-13 Screen shot of the tPad camera demonstration
4.7 Video and Image Processing for Camera
The Video and Image Processing (VIP) for Camera Example Design demonstrates dynamic scaling
and clipping of a standard definition video stream in RGB format and picture-in-picture mixing
with a background layer. The video stream is output in high definition resolution (800×600) on the
HSMC LTC daughter card (part of the tPad).
The example design demonstrates a framework for rapid development of video and image
processing systems using the parameterizable MegaCore® functions that are available in the Video
and Image Processing Suite. Available functions are listed in Table 4 2. This demonstration needs
the Quartus II license file includes the VIP suite feature.
31
These functions allow you to fully integrate common video functions with video interfaces,
processors, and external memory controllers. The example design uses an Altera Cyclone® IV E
EP4CE115F29 featured tPad board.
A video source is input through the CMOS sensor on tPad which generates a digital output in RGB
format. A number of common video functions are performed on this input stream in the FPGA.
These functions include clipping, chroma resampling, motion adaptive deinterlacing, color space
conversion, picture-in-picture mixing, and polyphase scaling.
The input and output video interfaces on the tPad are configured and initialized by software running
on a Nios® II processor. Nios II software demonstrates how to control the clocked video input,
clocked video output, and mixer functions at run-time is also provided. The video system is
implemented using the SOPC Builder system level design tool. This abstracted design tool provides
an easy path to system integration of the video processing data path with a NTSC or PAL video
input, VGA output, Nios II processor for configuration and control. The Video and Image
Processing Suite MegaCore functions have common open Avalon-ST data interfaces and Avalon
Memory-Mapped (Avalon-MM) control interfaces to facilitate connection of a chain of video
functions and video system modeling. In addition, video data is transmitted between the Video and
Image Processing Suite functions using the Avalon-ST Video protocol, which facilitates building
run-time controllable systems and error recovery.
For the objective of a better visual effect, the CMOS sensor is configured to enable the left right
mirror mode. User could disable this functionality by modifying the related register value being
written to CMOS controller chip.
Figure 4-14 shows the Video and Image Processing block diagram.
32
Figure 4-14 VIP Camera Example SOPC Block Diagram (Key Components)
 Demonstration Source Code



Project directory: tPad_VIP_Camera
Bit stream used: tPad_VIP_Camera.sof
Nios II Workspace: tPad_VIP_Camera \Software
 Demonstration Batch File
Demo Batch File Folder: tPad_VIP_Camera\demo_batch
The demo batch file includes the following files:
33



Batch File: tPad_VIP_Camera.bat, tPad_VIP_Camera _bashrc
FPGA Configure File: tPad_VIP_Camera.sof
Nios II Program: tPad_VIP_Camera.elf
 Demonstration Setup







Connect the VGA output of the tPad board to a VGA monitor (both LCD and CRT type of
monitors should work)
Load the bit stream into FPGA (note*)
Run the Nios II and choose tPad_VIP_Camera\Software as the workspace. Click on the Run
button (note *)
The system enters the FREE RUN mode automatically. Press KEY[0] on the DE2-115 board
to reset the circuit
Press KEY[2] to stop run; you can press KEY[3] again to switch back to FREE RUN mode
and you should be able to see whatever the camera captures on the VGA display
User can use SW[17] to mirror image of the line. However, remember to press KEY[0] after
toggle SW[17]
Press and drag the video frame box will result in scaling the playing window to any size, as
shown in Figure 4-10
Note:
(1).Execute tPad_VIP_Camera\demo_batch\tPad_VIP_CameraA.bat will download .sof and .elf
files.
(2).You may need additional Altera VIP suite Megacore license features to recompile the project.
Figure 4-15 illustrates the setup for this demonstration.
34
Figure 4-15 Setup for the tPad_VIP_Camera demonstration
35
Chapter 5
Application Selector
The application selector utility is the default code that powers on the FPGA and offers a graphical
interface on LCD allowing users to select and run different demonstrations resides on SD Card.
5.1 Ready to Run SD Car d Demos
You can find several Ready to Run SD Card demos in your SD Card root directory as well as in the
System CD under tPad_Factory_Recovery\Application_Selector folder. Figure 5-1 shows the
photograph of the application selector main interface.
Figure 5-1 Application selector main interface
Also, you can easily convert your own applications to be loadable by the application selector. For
more information see “Creating Your Own Loadable Applications” in section 5.3. If you have
lost the contained files in the SD Card, you could find them on the tPad System CD under the
tPad_Factory_Recovery folder.
36
5.2 Running the Application Selector





Connect power to the tPad board
Insert the SD Card with applications into the SD Card socket of tPad
Switch on the power (SW18) (1*)
Scroll to select the demonstration to load using the side-bar
Tap on the Load button to load and run a demonstration (2*)
Note:
(1).If the board is already powered, the application selector will boot from EPCS, and a splash
screen will appear while the application selector searches for applications on the SD Card.
(2).The application will begin loading, and a window will be displayed showing the progress.
Loading will take between 2 and 30 seconds, depending on the size of the application.
5.3 Application Selector Details
This section describes some details about the operation of the application selector utility.
SD Card
The Application Selector uses the SD Card for storing applications. The SD Card must be formatted
with the FAT 16 file system, and can be any capacity up to 2GB. Long file names are supported.
The Nios II CPU access the SD Card through an SD Card SPI controller.
Application Files
Each loadable application consists of two binary files, all stored on the SD Card. The first binary
file represents the software portion of the example and must be derived from an .ELF file as
described in the section of this document titled “Creating Your Own Loadable Applications”. This
binary file can be named anything supported by the FAT16 file system, the only restriction being
that the name must end with _SW.bin. The second binary file represents the hardware portion of the
example and must be derived from a .SOF file as described in the section of this document titled
“Creating Your Own Loadable Applications”. This file can be named anything supported by the
FAT 16 file system, the only restriction being that the name must end with _HW.bin.
SD Card Directory Structure
All loadable applications on the SD Card must be located in a top-level directory named
Application_Selector. Under the Application_Selector directory, each application is located in its
own subdirectory. The name of that subdirectory is important because the application selector utility
uses that name as the title of the application when displaying it in the main menu. The subdirectory
37
names can be anything so long as they adhere to the FAT file system long file name rules. Spaces
are permitted.
CFI Flash
CFI flash is used to store the software binary files of applications. All software binary files used by
the application selector contain a boot copier which is pre-ended by the Nios2-elf-objcopy utility
during file conversion process described in the “Creating Your Own Loadable Applications” section.
The boot copier copies the software code to program memory before running it. The Application
software binary file is stored in flash at load time to an offset 0x0.
EPCS Device
EPCS is used to store both the binary file of the Application Selector (both hardware and software
image) itself, as well as hardware binary files of applications which are being loaded. The
Application Selector binary file is permanently stored in EPCS device at offset 0x0. Hardware
binary files for the applications being loaded get written to EPCS at load time to an offset
0x400000.
Creating Your Own Loadable Applications
It is easy to convert your own Nios II design into an application which is loadable by the
Application Selector utility. All you need is a hardware image (a .SOF file) and a software image
which runs on that hardware (a Nios II .ELF file).
The only restrictions are:



The hardware designs must contain a CFI Flash controller (1*)
If the .SOF file contains a Nios II CPU, then its reset address should be set to CFI Flash at
offset 0x0
Before compiling the software, make sure you have set your software‟s program memory (.text
section) in Flash memory under the System Library Properties (Nios II IDE) page or through
BSP Editor (Nios II SBT for Eclipse) utility (2*)
Once you have your working .SOF and .ELF file pair, perform the following steps to convert them
to a loadable application selector compatible application.




Copy both the .SOF and .ELF files into a common directory relying on your choice. This
directory is where you will convert the files
On your host PC, launch a Nios II Command Shell from Start ->Programs -> Altera -> Nios
II <version #> EDS -> Nios II Command Shell
From the command shell navigate to where your SOF file is located and create your hardware
binary file using the following commands
Convert .sof file into .flash file
38
sof2flash --epcs --input=”your example.sof” --output= “your example_HW.flash”(3*)

Convert .flash file into .binary file
nios2-elf-objcopy –I srec –O binary “your example_HW.flash” “your example_HW.bin”

From the command shell navigate to where your ELF file is located and create your software
binary file using the following command
nios2-elf-objcopy –O binary “your example.elf” “your example_SW.bin ”(4,5*)


Create a new subdirectory and name it what you would like the title of your application to be
shown as in the application selector
Using an SD Card reader, copy the directory onto an SD Card into a directory named
“Application_Selector”. The directory structure on the SD Card should look like this:
Application_Selector\<Name of Application>\{<elf_name>_SW.bin;<sof_name>_HW.bin}

Place the SD Card in the tPad board, and switch on the power. The Application Selector will
start up, and you will now see your application appear as one of the selections
Note:
(1).You may not need a CFI Flash controller when your design does not contain a Nios II
processor or you store your software code within the on-chip memory and use the .hex
initialization file.
(2).If you would like to use other memories such as SRAM or SDRAM as the program memory,
you may need to perform two steps to convert your .elf file into .bin file to make the software
properly run on tPad. The commands seem to look like this:
elf2flash --base=flash_base_address --end=flash_end_address --reset=flash_base_address
--input="<your
software
name>.elf"
--output="<your
software
name>.flash"
--boot="$SOPC_KIT_NIOS2/components/altera_nios2/boot_loader_cfi.srec"
nios2-elf-objcopy –I srec –O binary <your software name>.flash <your software name>_SW.bin
(3).You may pad a --compress option for saving binary image space because the Cyclone IV E
series support the decompress feature while loading hardware image from EPCS device.
(4).The command will use the default HAL boot loader and link it to the .text section.
(5).You can also use the tool „bin_demo_batch‟ to convert your sof and elf to bin. Copy ”your
example.sof” and “your example.elf” to the bin_demo_batch folder, rename them to test.sof,
test.elf, execute the test.bat, then the final test_HW.bin and test_SW.bin are your target files.
39
5.4 Restoring the Factor y Image
This section describes some details about the operation of restoring the Application Selector factory
image.
Combining factory recovery binary files
In the factory settings, you need to program Application Selector binary files to EPCS. Before
programming, you should combine application selector software binary file and hardware binary
file together by executing the instructions below:




Copy both the tPad_Selector.sof and tPad_Selector.elf files into a common directory relying on
your choice. This directory is where you will convert the files
On your host PC, launch a Nios II Command Shell from Start ->Programs -> Altera -> Nios
II <version #> EDS -> Nios II Command Shell
From the command shell navigate to where your SOF file is located and create your hardware
binary file using the following command commands listed below
Convert tPad_Selector.sof file into tPad_Selector_HW.flash file
sof2flash --epcs –input=tPad_Selector.sof --output= tPad_Selector_HW.flash

Convert .flash file into .bin file
nios2-elf-objcopy –I srec –O binary tPad_Selector_HW.flash tPad_Selector_HW.bin


From the command shell navigate to where your ELF file is located and create your software
bin image using the following command commands listed below
Convert tPad_Selector.elf into tPad_Selector_SW.flash
elf2flash –epcs --after=tPad_Selector_HW.flash --input=tPad_Selector.elf
--output=tPad_Selector_SW.flash

Convert tPad_Selector_SW.flash into tPad_Selector_SW.bin
nios2-elf-objcopy –I srec –O binary tPad_Selector_SW.flash tPad_Selector_SW.bin

Combine tPad_Selector_HW.bin and tPad_Selector_SW.bin using the following command
cat tPad_Selector_HW.bin

tPad_Selector_SW.bin > tPad_Selector.bin
The generated tPad_Selector.bin is our target binary file
40
Restoring the original binary file
To restore the original contents of the Application Selector, perform the following steps:








Copy tPad_Selector project into a local directory of your choice. The tPad_Selector project is
placed in tPad_Demonstrations\tPad_Selector
Power on the tPad board, with the USB cable connected to the USB Blaster port
Download the tPad_Selector.sof to the board by using either JTAG or AS programming
Run the Nios II and choose tPad_Selector\Software as the workspace
Choose Tools > Flash Programmer to open the flash programmer
Choose Program a file into memory, choose your tPad_Selector.bin file. See Figure 5-2
Click Program Flash to start program tPad_Selector.bin to EPCS in the board
When program finish, power on again
Note: You can also use „tPad_Selector_batch‟ to generate selector.bin and restore the
original
binary
file
by
executing
the
tPad_Selector.bat
under
the
tPad_Factory_Recovery\tPad_Selector_batch folder.
Figure 5-2 Programming Flash settings
41
Chapter 6
Appendix
6.1 Revision Histor y
Version
V1.0
V1.0.1
V1.0.2
Change Log
Initial Version (Preliminary)
Kit content image updated
Descriptions of the camera demonstration’s mirror mode added
6.2 Copyright Statement
Copyright © 2010 Terasic Technologies. All rights reserved.
42